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Whose side of the story do you believe?

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PRINEVILLE, Ore. (AP) - A Central Oregon man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter in the shooting death of a man who sold him fake methamphetamine.

Michael Donovan, 26, of Prineville reached a plea deal Monday after the state’s primary witness, the victim’s girlfriend, made inconsistent statements and then proved difficult to find, The Bulletin newspaper reported (https://is.gd/PAVJ6t).

Donovan had been charged with murder after shooting James Scott on a rural road in September 2015.

Scott and his girlfriend had met Donovan at the Prineville 7-Eleven at 3 a.m. Donovan bought meth later found to be fake.

He went back to confront Scott and found him and his girlfriend pulled off to the side of a road. Donovan fired several times, killing Scott.

Donovan’s attorney said his client was reacting to a fake gun brandished by Scott’s girlfriend, and wasn’t trying to kill anyone.

Following prison, Donovan will have three years of post-prison supervision. He must also pay $20,694 in restitution, $16,550 going to Scott’s father, Dave, and the rest going to the county and a property owner for damage Donovan did after driving away from the scene.

Dave Scott spoke briefly in court, saying Donovan should receive life in prison.

“I got a lot of words, but I can’t get them out,” the distraught father said.

Judge Daniel Ahern said the violence ultimately stemmed from meth, an epidemic he sees daily working as a judge in Crook and Jefferson counties.

“If there continues to be this demand for meth, that people meet strangers at 7-Eleven parking lots at 3 in the morning and then somehow are shocked by the quality of the product they are buying, anybody from the outside looking in just realizes how ridiculous the whole thing is,” Ahern said. “And unfortunately for your sake, you’re paying the price for it.”